ØRESUND SPACE COLLECTIVE

Side A's title track sees the band mired in a brooding snarling swampy sound, heavy and driving as if they're marooned on the surface of a mucky alien world. The early sections of the piece have a serious dark groove to them, beautiful subtle tempo changes back and forth thanks to some spontaneous drum-fills and punchy unrelenting bass. The usual OSC synths take more of a back-seat to the twin guitarists, who help give the piece a driving and confident slow-burn. The second half turns into one of the dustiest and most bluesy pieces from the band to date, a searing near-boogie that kicks up so much dirt, it's interesting to hear them with their feet on the ground for a change! A welcome diversion from all their usual outer space adventures.

The flip-side aims for the stars again, and `Ear Meat' initially starts like many Oresund pieces, glistening and ethereal chiming guitars drenched in reverb and delay, shimmering synth pulses and tendril-like bass that creates a floating deep space cocoon for the listener. But things rapidly take a dangerously psychedelic turn once the band surprisingly incorporate whispered treated poetry. We emerge on the other side to a sonically violating electronic passage that reminds of similar sections of the Ozric Tentacles' `Strangeitude' album, then plodding hypnotic bass and a black hole of whirling synths take the OSC closer than ever to a serrated and unnerving Hawkwind edge. Completely disorientating and experimental, it's another immense colourful vision with a hint of danger that the band does so well.

You can safely pick up any Oresund Space Collective release and know you're going to get some quality space rock, and `Phaze Your Fears' is no exception. The title track presents them at their more earthy and grounded best, the second side their most wildly inventive, ambitious and challenging trip so far. It's perfect for new listeners and even more satisfying for established followers, and it's even better value now that it's available in a double CD set - two sublime space albums, what more could be ask for?

Four stars.

The music is laid-back, dreamy space rock with jazz & blues flavour, totally instrumental, and features guitar as the leading instrument. Kev's review tells about the central element of improvisation. I didn't know that but it's easily felt in the free-floating way the tracks move forward - or rather, keep hovering in anti-gravity. 'Walking on Clouds', like the first side is titled. The album was recorded in just two days (April 2012), which is the best proof of the skill of this group. It doesn't sound half-baked or unfinished. My only negative remark would be that the four tracks may not vary the sound, shape or mood as much as would be an ideal. But still the whole album is an enjoyable ride and suits perfectly for either background for e.g. reading - or Tantric sex (of which I have no experience actually, but that felt like the right thing to say!) - or for slow lingering between sleep and waking-up on a hurriless morning, or why not as good night music too.

The title "Organic Earthly Flotation" sums up the music pretty well. This is not cold, alienated and synthetic soundscape as much of Electronic Music is, but warm, sensitive and organic, and it sure floats psychedelically. The spacey guitar playing has a bluesy vibe and synths furthermore paint the images of space. Sometimes they are Kitaro-like windy sounds, sometimes related to Schulze, Jarre and such, sometimes bizarre psychedelic bubbling (like in the end of side one of NEKTAR's Remember The Future). Drums - and naturally bass guitar - are also an essential part of the sound. No hi-hat or fancy tempo changes, but a relaxed basic backing to give the "earthly" feel. I get associations of the late sixties Pink Floyd, Bo Hansson's Sagan om Ringen, Manuel Göttsching (Ash Ra Tempel, Ashra and solo) and some other Krautrock, Jimi Hendrix's 'Little Wing' - and perhaps also Santana for the guitar work, but I was carried there by the track title 'Carlos on the Moon', which, I believe, refers to Carlos Santana. At least that's a better bet than Walter/Wendy Carlos, right?

I warmly recommend this to all friends of bluesy, relaxed space rock.

The opening track, "Walking on Clouds" (composed by Daniel, which the rest of the band jammed on) was the only one that was pre-written, with the other three being totally improvised. There are only four songs, but it still has a total playing time of 48 minutes. If you have never come across these guys, then they are well worth investigating. There is something incredibly entrancing and inviting about this style of space rock which has as much in common with jazz as it does with Hawkwind as the guys all take their cues from each other and goes wherever the music takes them. It is inventive, compelling and somewhat incredible all at the same time. This album had as much of an impact on me as their debut did, and now I see that I am going to have to spend some time investing in some of the others that have passed me by. This is a band that very much follow their own path, bringing together elements from many, to create something singularly and definitively theirs. All of the band combine to make this all work, building a sonic soundscape that allows the guitars to bring together the best of Hillage and Allen, in a truly wonderful way. For more details on this and all of their releases visit www.oresundspacecollective.com.

`Viking Stew Catastrophe' begins as a slow burning dark alien reggae groove in the furthest reaches of space, subtly moving through brooding unknowing black-hole tension, pulse-quickening electronic danger and finally aggressive maddening attack in the finale before you even have time to breathe. Imagine David Gilmour in his late 60's/early 70's prime jamming in the corner, with Tangerine Dream standing at the bar before being crushed and pushed aside by the stomping Hawk Lords themselves. A seamless performance that floats through a range of moods and emotions effortlessly.

The pulsing synth bubbles that open `The Church Goes To Space' sound so much more like a deep sea aquatic voyage that it makes me want to take on Bubble Man and his underwater lair in `Mega Man 2' all over again (man, that takes me back about 20 years)! Tranquil and dozy chiming electric guitar delay ripples around the speakers, brooding slinky bass slithers along the ocean surface, before gentle blowing winds lift us up and fling us towards the space lines. We spin and weave around the aural tornado, lonely yet comforting crystalline electric guitar majesty and the hint of rumbling drum thunderclaps make our heart skip a beat. We are guaranteed safety here, but the protection is soon to be tested.

`Monster Jam (excerpt)' is just that, all snarling snapping attacking danger, guitars and drums charging right for the throat of this traveller, stomping down hard and heavy, intimidating organ and howling monster wails crushing all in it's path. Soon otherworldly forces begin the difficult task of reshaping this damaged planet, dubby bass, scratchy lively searing guitar and swirling synths our colourful, playful and finally proud and joyous soundtrack that hints at the excitement and opportunity of creating life anew, full of possibilities and potential.

New life moves through `The River Flows Through Me', fused with a mix of human and alien DNA emerging from the ruins of this wrecked world. A new dawn of spiritual enlightenment and peace, the driving and melodic guitar jamming filled with renewed purpose, the glorious synth washes and strident drumming moving us ever forward. Gulping swallowing bass draws in the negative energy and disperses it into a positive humming life-force, a raging whirlwind of synesthesia as our sensory pathways are blurred as one. Time slows down, thoughtful bluesy guitar makes us ponder who we are and stops us from losing ourselves, we reflect on this altered state of being with pulsing repetitive disorientating electronic waves and beats to numb our thoughts into hypnotic bliss. The final passage is a truly moving, emotional and victorious send off, rarely before have the band sounded so uplifting, before a roaring guitar solo brimming with confidence closes the piece that might be one of the greatest moments the OSC has ever committed to disc. Waves of time, hold me close, and carry me floating into the New Age.

Although housed in a simple cardboard slipcase, special mention must go to the insane galactic rainbow explosion cover artwork, and I'm pretty sure that's some kind of cosmic rooster buried in the swirling patterns! Hopefully we see more of these limited edition live performance releases in the future, and as this one is limited to 200 copies, space cadets better get a move on and snap it up right away!

Four exploding stars.

Head Oresund visionary Dr Space achieves superb results with his chosen associates this time around (and for the companion album from the same sessions, `Phaze Your Fears'). In addition to the three amazing guitarists I'll mention below, thanks to Troels Drasbech, never has the drumming sounded so varied, unpredictable and propulsive. The bass playing of Jiri Jon Hjort is given a thick and upfront place in the mix, creating a truly commanding and trace-like sound. Dr Space himself and fellow synth player Mogens Pederson actually take a less prominent role this time, preferring to colour the backgrounds with restrained electronic washes while letting the other great musicians take the centre stage.

Opening with a galloping `One of These Days'-like Pink Floyd rhythm and lots of short sharp guitar stabs over drifting synths, side-long piece `Born Between Stars' is one most draining works the band has composed so far. There's a fiery intensity, a real harshness to the ragged guitar soloing from Claus Bohling and Stefan Krey that just goes on forever, reaching out to the furthest reaches of space, taking on a snarling menace. You'll have the sensation of being totally overwhelmed, isolated, slowly slipping into madness, and the band has never sounded so darkly groovy before. Half way through we arrive at a slightly calmer passage, full of lulling repeated sleepy bass lines, shimmering synth programming loops and delayed guitar jamming. But it's all a deceptive calm before the storm, as Troels rattles off a machine gun drum attack and the band goes berserk, full of thrashing scorching Hawkwind meets Ozrics face-melting guitar intensity and thunderstorm whirling keys. After a few minutes of sonic menace, the band retreat back, and I'm sure for a few seconds they're almost channeling Yes from the opening of `Soon' off their `Relayer' album. Some sedate and soothing final moments with an almost skipping guitar melody, before a spontaneous final comeback run from Troels that picks up the tempo, you almost get the feeling this piece could have taken off in yet another extended direction here...and even after 22 minutes, it still seems to end too soon!

After opening like The Orb's `Spanish Castles In Space', full of floating loneliness and synths groaning heavy sighs, the energetic momentum begins again as `Rising Tides and Floating Nebulas' sees the band kick off with some very relentless dirty bluesy slide guitar playing from Mathias Danielsson, almost sounding like Yes' Steve Howe in his noisy 70's live prime. Every O.S.C albums brings something new to their sound, and this is quite an interesting direction for them to wander down! Add in some Ashra-influenced electronic looping, plucky foot-tapping bass, sprightly up-tempo drumming, Steve Hillage-like delayed chiming guitar work and swirling hypercolour synths bubbling all around for your perfect outer space voyage! The final drifting passage is one of the most triumphant themes the band was achieved on disc so far, managing the sort of grand melodic extended guitar solo that Steven Wilson used to perform on the early Porcupine Tree albums so beautifully.

7 minute finale `Red Earth Calling' makes you think you're going to get a nice come-down to end the album on, but very quickly that hint of threat and menace slowly creeps back in. Full of middle- eastern mysticism, we're initially blessed with hypnotic waves of trilling guitars and phasing whirlpools of synths, it almost even resembles parts of Jefferson Airplane's classic rambling `Spare Chaynge' instrumental. But very soon the music takes a bad turn, weeping bending guitar lines start to resemble tormented wailing cries, the atmosphere turning thick and brooding. It ends the album and the listener in a dark place, very confronting and quite brave for the band.

The darker elements of `Entering Into the Space Country' makes this one of the more challenging releases from the Oresund Space Collective, but it's also inspiring just how good they're getting, every album bringing them one step closer to releasing that truly perfect album. Fans of overwhelming spacerock and involving improvised music will find much to appreciate here.

Four stars.

This debut album by the band is perhaps slightly more structured than future outputs, but that's neither a plus, nor a minus. It's just how they were in that moment. OK, lets lay down the Law. This is largely instrumental jamming of the better kind.

Now, I could never come to terms with as why some people have that serious dislike for jamming, a form of credible and artistic approach to improvising. OSC are a largely improvising band with a door open to virtually anyone to join in. In their live performances, you'll never hear the same track performed in an identical way and I just love that sense of freedom and openness!

These guys actually fill a huge gap in Prog. Spacey, yet sophisticated in their approach to simplicity. The rhythm section swings in a slightly jazzy way, providing a vehicle to the synth layering of "space sounds" and the guitars to add some nice licks but nothing to do with boring Electronic stuff that puts you in a coma for little gain..

Now, onto the customary comparisons. The effort is much closer to better moments of Steve Hillage, but also invites memories of the Floydian approach of the '70s. Contrary to the space sound, very little to do with Hawkwind, a band that I also like - with some reservations.

Ageing hippies - like myself - may remember of the attitude to "sharing is caring" that's not known in today's "dog eat dog" societies running a threadmill of greed. These people have the generosity of heart to provide free downloads of numerous live performances from their website. Hard copies too, could be obtained at a peppercorn price.

Now, that's the spirit I can happily relate to. Aside from the very enjoyable music, they make me feel like I've gained an instant family, a tribe. The package as a whole (music and attitudes combined) deserves a 5 from me, nothing less.

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The play on words of `High Rise' could not be more appopriate, as constantly stoned and ragged unhinged electric guitar solos over buzzing winds and cool electronic textures that ebb and flow to build the tension. Maddening tabla and middle eastern percussion tap away throughout the entire piece to create a very disorientating atmosphere.

`Kafi (For Your Love)' is a reflective, heartfelt and spiritual sitar/drone piece with a deeply ambient and swirling keyboard middle very similar to the Manuel Gottsching/Ashra `New Age Of Earth' bubbling runs. Lovely and mystical.

The cosmic electronic effects, folky acoustic guitar and bluesy lead electric playing of the grooving `Spirit Blues' drifts amongst low-key synth washes and hypnotic tabla percussion. Sure to get you nodding your head in appreciation. `Repetition' lives up to it's name, although it's never boring. A long droning ambient piece full of sitar, tabla and glistening dancing crystaline keys, almost drifting into programmed/Tangerine Dream territory, something that several OSC albums have also done lately.

`Sitars In Space' is the most unsettling piece on the album. Although full of howling cosmic winds and long drawn-out echoing sitar, much of the piece travels through eerie and murky murmerring dark bass tension and groaning deep-space machine electronics. Like a sinister nightmare, this track almost compliments dark space works like Tangerine Dream's `Zeit' in parts, and it shares that albums' sense of overwhelming isolation and solitude.

The Oresund Space Collective albums keep coming along nicely, but hopefully the members involved in this wonderful diversion will continue to collaborate and release more quality works in the future! Each new release by the related Oresund Space Collective projects brings them closer to the classic drifting psych/space works of bands like Agitation Free they surely have in them. I buy everything the band releases and have yet to be disappointed. Every new release brings them closer and closer to a truly defining work.

But for now, `West, Space and Love' is a meditative and captivating album to place alongside artists like Daevid Allen's `Sacred Geometry' that successfully fuses ambient, electronic and ethnic/world elements to create an intoxicating and timeless psychedelic spacey journey.

Highly recommended. Four stars!

An air of mystery surrounds the opening few minutes of the first part. A thick wall of electronic noise purrs away like pulsing generators, while gentle blowing winds and hypnotic bass draws to mind `Ricochet'-era Tangerine Dream. Warm tambourine percussion enhances this sound and gives it a repetitive trance-like loop, again like the 70's electronic artists. The music slowly builds in urgency, like a suffocating vacuum, as alien-sounding wailing synth effects creep through, stony strummed chords play over and over into infinity alongside ghostly floating organ. Then without warning, the drums kick in with a warm skipping rhythm and a melodic guitar solo take flight!

Overloaded with sonic sound effects, part two tears through deep space as the guitar takes a rougher turn. Throbbing synths and snappy upbeat drum-work soars even higher, while Steve Hillage-like fuzzed up guitars drift around the dreamy atmosphere. There's a great jazzy groove to much of this section, especially the drumming. Half way through the beat gets pounding and harder, the bass more chugging and dominating like Hawkwind. The music takes on an almost dervish like quality, maddening and overwhelming. Love how the rhythm slows up and speeds down, back and forth, really throws the listener around! Lots of squalling wah-wah guitar dripping with noise here, and some gorgeous glissando and a knockout bubbling keyboard run near the end!

Frantic drumming and crazy jumping synths fight it out before the storm subsides as we enter the third movement. A mellow come-down with some loopy keyboards, acid-drenched bluesy guitar and very loose addictive bass and drums. Fans of early 70's Floyd will love the first ten minutes of this section, and it's probably the highlight of the album. Then the beat expertly picks up again, with some shimmering keys and roaring guitar solos fighting through hissing winds and stormy waves. I love how the drumming takes on a very hypnotic, almost programmed feel! This final section has a lot of tension, and it ends the piece overall in an energetic and dramatic manner.

I react differently to this album each time I listen to it. Gripping and hugely atmospheric one time, then plodding and mundane the next. You just have to be in the right mood for it. Anyone who hasn't heard the band before might be better inclined to give the terrific `Live at Roadburn 2010' double LP a listen first, as it offers much more variety.

The CD is limited to 500 copies, so anyone interested would be wise to get in touch with the band or their reliable prog supplier and snap up a copy! I think it's important for us to support talented artists committed to our favourite progressive related genres like this, and Oresund Space Collective put out consistently good quality releases.

Although not a lot of emotional depth, `Sleeping With The Sunworm' is still a very vibrant, colourful and very listenable cosmic trip around the galaxy!

Three stars.

So this is actually a leftover (I hate the adjective) of those 2006 jams, however, that does not mean it is a weaker jam, not at all, here we can appreciate and enjoy once again what these crazy and original musicians are capable of. The rhythm is dynamic, not that slow nor that faster, it brings moments of tranquility and some other of intensity. As usual, the synths work is phenomenal because it produces the different atmospheres and textures that work as the context of the guitars. The jam flows so deliciously that all of a sudden when we are enjoying its climax, it finishes, so I have stated in other reviews that some I don't love some longer tracks, but here I would have loved more minutes of the adventurous escape of the space police, before being finally chased.

Cool work once again, though in my (maybe ridiculous) policy I don't usually rate with more than two stars to 20-less minutes releases, because in my opinion those are mostly for fans. But well, don't pay attention to my rating, you better get this track (and more OSC music) and have fun.

Enjoy it!